Yemeni government forces launched a new offensive against the Iranian-backed Houthis on Monday. They claimed to be advancing near the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait and carrying out strikes on Houthi positions across several provinces.
The offensive marks a new phase in the conflict. In September, the Houthis seized a strip of land on the Red Sea coast near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. This shocked Saudi Arabia, which has backed the Yemen government. It also led to alarm bells in Washington.
Now, with the apparent prodding of Riyadh, Yemen’s government is trying to rally its numerous disconnected front lines to fight the Houthis.
The problem is that the government forces are not well united. They have fronts in southern Yemen, around Taiz, and others in northern Yemen.
Southern Yemen was, until last December, controlled by the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council. The front lines had remained relatively stable following the 2022 truce.
Yemen aims to retake territory, banish Houthis, and restore state institutions
Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council President Rashad al-Alimi has called the new campaign “Dawn of Yemen.” The operation is intended to restore state institutions, eventually retake Sanaa, and end Houthi control over large parts of the country, Saudi Arabia-based newspaper Arab News reported.
The problem is that the government also hinted at an offensive in September, but it was dealt a blow by the Houthis.
The Houthis are continuing to advance, according to a recent report by the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank. What that means is that even as the government tries to advance, the Houthis appear to still be winning on some fronts.
“With the will of our people, the bravery of our forces, and the support of our brothers, Yemen will move toward a new dawn,” Arab News quoted Alimi as saying on Monday.
The operation follows several days of escalation. On Sunday, Alimi said government forces would begin operations to recapture territory still controlled by the Houthis.
“Today, we are embarking on a decisive phase in the history of our nation,” he said, according to Arab News. The operation was aimed at the Houthis rather than civilians living in Houthi-controlled areas, he added.
The fighting is particularly important along Yemen’s western coast. Government forces had taken control of Thubab, near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, after advancing from the Kahbub Mountains, Arab News reported on Monday. Government forces are also seeking to secure the area around the strait and push north along the coast, the report said.
The Bab el-Mandeb Strait is strategically important because it connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. Control of territory overlooking the strait gives the Houthis potential leverage over a major international shipping route, particularly at a time of wider regional tensions involving Iran.
Yemeni government forces also say they have intensified operations on other fronts. Maj.-Gen. Majed Abdullah Al-Nuzaili, spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces, said Yemeni forces had carried out 1,122 strikes or targeting operations against Houthi military infrastructure in Saada, Al-Jawf, and Taiz.
The operations had killed or otherwise “neutralized” 1,747 Houthi personnel and destroyed or disabled 364 vehicles and other pieces of equipment, he said. These figures are government claims and have not been independently verified. Arab News reported the figures based on Nuzaili’s statement.
The Saudi-led Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen has pledged continued support for the offensive. On Monday, the coalition said 100 aircraft had participated in the opening phase of Operation Dawn of Yemen, and that it was providing air cover around Bab el-Mandeb Strait as well as continuous support for Yemeni forces on the ground, Arab News reported.
The Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, emerged from the Zaydi Shi’ite community in northern Yemen and have fought a series of wars against the Yemeni government since 2004. The group expanded during the instability that followed the 2011 Arab Spring and seized Sanaa in 2014.
Saudi Arabia led a military intervention in March 2015, supporting the internationally recognized government, while Iran increasingly provided support to the Houthis. The Houthis developed ballistic missiles and long-range attack drones with Iranian advice and support.
Years of fighting left Yemen divided and created a humanitarian crisis. A UN-mediated truce in 2022 significantly reduced large-scale combat even after it formally expired, leaving the front lines largely stagnant.
The Houthis, nevertheless, continued developing increasingly capable ballistic missiles and drones. Beginning in late 2023, they launched attacks against shipping in the Red Sea and toward Israel.
Government forces determined to reverse territorial losses
The US under the Biden administration encouraged some countries to help keep the Red Sea shipping route open. The Trump administration carried out strikes against the Houthis in March 2025.
The latest fighting could change things, but previous reports of offensives tended to not pan out.
Government forces are now attempting to reverse their territorial losses and reassert government control over strategically important areas of Yemen. They face the Houthis, who have strong interior lines and have tended to win in the past.
On Monday, the Houthis said they had seized Alimi's home in Taiz, UAE-based news site Al-Ain News reported.
“Earlier on Monday, Houthi militias seized control of the Aloum area, where Alimi’s house is located, in Taiz province (256 km southwest of Sanaa),” the report said. “Hundreds of Houthi fighters attacked the Aloum area in Al-Mawasit district in the countryside of Taiz governorate early this morning.”
“Sources told Al-Ain News that the Houthi militias seized Al-Alimi’s house following violent clashes with Yemeni forces and residents in Al-Mawasit district, located in the heart of the historic Al-Hajariya region,” it added. “The Houthi militias seized Al-Alimi’s house in Al-Uloom after they took control yesterday of the house of the speaker of the Yemeni Parliament, Sheikh Sultan Al-Barakani, and captured the city of Al-Turbah, the capital of Al-Hujariya and the second-largest city in Taiz.”
The Houthis had imposed a siege on the city of Taiz, the report said, adding that they were trying to preempt the government offensive.
They attacked “in anticipation of the military operation being carried out by the Southern Giants forces on the coasts of the governorate, specifically in Bab el-Mandeb and the Dhubab district,” Al-Ain News reported.